Milosevic 'died of heart attack'

Slobodan Milosevic's body was being released to his family today after an eight-hour autopsy revealed that the former Yugoslav president died of a heart attack in his prison cell.

The UN war crimes tribunal released a statement last night saying it had received "a brief summary of the autopsy results. According to the pathologists, Slobodan Milosevic's cause of death was a 'myocardial infarction"' - a heart attack.

The statement came after a day of speculation on the cause of death that ranged from ill health to suicide to poison.

Tribunal spokeswoman Alexandra Milenov said the autopsy revealed Milosevic had been suffering from two heart conditions.

She did not name the conditions, but said the doctors determined they might have caused the heart attack. She also said toxicological tests were still to be carried out.

Asked if poisoning could have caused the heart attack, Ms Milenov said it was too early to draw conclusions.

She said the inquiry into Milosevic's death, ordered by tribunal president Fausto Pocar, was continuing.

"I think we should also wait for that until we come to any final conclusions," she said, adding that the final report was expected to be released in a matter of days.

The Serbian national council for cooperation with the UN tribunal said in a statement that the autopsy was conducted in "a very professional manner" by a team of three Dutch pathologists.

It was supervised by a neuropathologist from Belgium and two experts from the military medical academy in Belgrade. The entire procedure was recorded.

"You have the choice between normal, natural death and suicide," she told reporters at the tribunal, where Milosevic had been standing trial for more than four years on 66 counts of war crimes and genocide in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo during Yugoslavia's violent break-up in the 1990s.

Ms Milenov said Milosevic's body would be released to his family today. She added that the tribunal was in contact with the family but had no details about who his remains would be released to or where the body would be taken.

The family has yet to decide where to bury Milosevic. His wife, Mirjana Markovic, and their son, Marko, live in Russia and want Milosevic buried there. They are wanted on international warrants for abuse of power, and could be arrested if they return to Serbia for a funeral.

But his brother, Borislav Milosevic, suggested that he should be buried "in his own country, as he's a son of Serbia".

Milosevic's daughter, Marija, said he should be buried in the family grave in Montenegro.

"He's not a Russian to be buried in Moscow," she said, adding that she would not attend a Moscow funeral.

Milosevic, 64, found dead in his cell on Saturday morning, had suffered from heart ailments and high blood pressure, and his bad health caused numerous breaks in his four-year trial.

Hi's legal adviser said the former president had feared he was being poisoned.

He showed reporters a six-page letter Milosevic wrote on Friday - the day before his death - claiming that traces of a "heavy drug" were found in his blood. The letter was addressed to the Russian Embassy asking for help.

Zdenko Tomanovic said Milosevic was "seriously concerned" he was being poisoned.

He cited a January 12 Dutch medical report which showed traces of medication used against leprosy and tuberculosis, but said Milosevic had never taken them.

A Dutch news report also said traces of "unusual drugs" were found in a blood sample taken from Milosevic in recent months.

Court officials declined to comment on the report.

Milosevic had appealed to the war crimes tribunal in December to be allowed to go to a heart clinic in Moscow for treatment. The request was denied. He repeated the request as late as last month.

He underwent frequent medical examinations by doctors and specialists appointed by the tribunal and by Serb doctors brought at his own request. Detailed reports were routinely submitted to the judges.

His death means there will be no judicial verdict for the man who became known in the West as the "Butcher of the Balkans".

Kasim Qerkezi, a Kosovo Albanian whose 18-year-old son was killed during a 1999 crackdown by Serb forces, was bitter.

"He was like a snake that always slips away," he said. "He died without paying back a fraction of what he owed to all of us."

Milosevic is the sixth war crimes suspect from the Balkans to die at The Hague. A week earlier, convicted former Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic, a star prosecution witness in the Milosevic trial, killed himself in the same prison.

Ms Del Ponte said attention must now turn to capturing fugitives Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic.